Some people just understand the assignment. Where some artists have performed their Rolling Stone AU/NZ ‘In My Room’ session from a studio, or similar space, Pickle Darling performed four tracks from their new LP, Laundromat, directly from their Ōtautahi bedroom.
It’s fitting, really, because as Pickle Darling, Lukas Mayo has been one of the most striking bedroom pop artists of the past five years. “Welcome to my crib… It’s very messy at the moment, but all the mess has been pushed out of view,” they assure us at the beginning of their ‘In My Room’.
Pickle Darling performed four gems from their new album Laundromat. Released on June 16th, it’s the multi-instrumentalist’s first release since signing to renowned US label Father/Daughter Records.
“Following in the grand tradition of Aotearoa bands like Tall Dwarfs, Mayo creates vulnerable lo-fi pop vignettes rich in small details,” our five-star review of the record read. “Mayo has an Akerman-esque feel for quotidian beauty: art, they know, is everywhere in life, and their earnest existentialism flows right through Laundromat.”
Pickle Darling’s ‘In My Room’ reduced their sound to the raw essentials – just Mayo’s soft vocals, backing beats, and acoustic guitar. By stripping away the pretty production and whimsical whirrs that colour Laundromat, the gentle beauty and fragile romanticism of the songs rush to the surface; Alex G did this so memorably on the touching “Miracles”, the closing track from God Save the Animals.
“Sometimes I feel like an elderly man / I cross the road with your hand held,” Mayo plaintively sings in “King of Joy”, their eyes firmly closed.
You can watch Pickle Darling’s full ‘In My Room’ session above, which also includes renditions of “In Good Health”, the title track, and “Invercargill Angel” from their new album. Laundromat can be streamed in full below.
Pickle Darling’s Laundromat is out now via Father/Daughter Records.
